Miura acquires majority stake in Educaedu

Expansion reported that the deal is valued at approximately EUR 60m.

Miura is a mid-market private equity firm that specialises in management buyouts, growth capital investments and buy-ins. Miura confirmed it invested via Miura III, which was registered in December 2017 and held a final close on its hard-cap of EUR 330m in January 2018. The fund focuses on companies based in the Iberian peninsula with sales of at least EUR 25m and EBITDA of at least EUR 3m operating in specific niche sectors.

According to the Miura's website, it currently has almost EUR 1bn in assets under management, and has made 40 investments since 2008. The website also states that they take controlling stakes through acquisitions, capital expansion and recapitalisation operations, allocating EUR 15m-50m in capital in each company.

Miura III has invested in eight companies, Miura partner Carlos Julià told Unquote, all of which are based in Spain, including dental equipment manufacturer Proclinic; medical equipment manufacturer Terrats Medical; restaurants and bars operators Grupo Tragaluz and Grupo Saona; fresh fruit distributor Citri&Co; and LED light distributor EfectoLED.

Speaking to Unquote, Julià said of the fund's deal pipeline: "As always we are exploring different opportunities as the market is dynamic."

Expansion reported in June 2021 that Educaedu had mandated Houlihan Lokey to find a new majority shareholder. The report also noted Great Hill Partners, a US-based private equity firm, owned around 70% of Educaedu's capital and that it would leave the shareholding, while the founders, who held a 30% stake, would reinvest part of the proceeds of the transaction and hold on to 15%.

In 2020, the company had a turnover of EUR 19m and EBITDA of EUR 4m, Expansion reported, rising to EUR 21.8m in revenues in 2021 with EBITDA of EUR 6.3m. Julià told Unquote: "We have an 85% stake, and management have reinvested 15%." He also spoke about the sale process: "The process was carried out by Houlihan Lokey and we got exclusivity quite early."

As for growth plans, Julià said: "We aim to grow internationally and add additional services to our clients. We will make acquisitions and expand organically; we are open to both strategies. We have no specific targets, but we know the market very well."

Edecaedu will use the investment to continue with its expansion and growth plans, said the co-founders in a press release. It will seek to strengthen its position in Spain while focusing on international growth and reinforcing its digital platform. Expansion said that Educaecu will focus on the Latin America market, specifically Mexico, with a view to grow both organically and via acquisitions.

Miura's recent fund, Frutas, held a first close on EUR 350m in October 2019 and will focus on the agri-food sector. Frutas targets companies in Europe, Latin America, South Africa and the US that have revenues in the range of EUR 50m-150m. The fund expects to make around 10 deals, and has invested in fellow Miura III portfolio company Citri&Co.

Company
Educaedu was founded in 2001 by Mikel Castaños and Fernando Bacaicoa in Bilbao. The company operates in Spain, Italy and Latin America, supporting education providers by spreading their training programmes and recruiting new students.

Educaedu is in partnership with 2,000 universities and educational institutions globally, according to a press release, and employs 180 people.

People
Miura Partner – Carlos Julià (partner).
Educaedu – Fernando Bacaicoa, Mikel Castaños (co-founders and CEOs).

Advisers
Vendor – Houlihan Lokey (M&A); Garrigues (legal); Uría Menéndez (legal); EY (financial due diligence).
Equity – Natixis Partners (M&A); Gómez Acebo y Pombo (legal); Deloitte (financial due diligence).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Southern Europe
• Consumer
• Spain
• Miura Private Equity